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According to our latest sources, members of the T-Party are unhappy with Mr. Etch a Sketch, the Presumptive Presidential Pick of the rePublican Party. So much so, that they’ve come up with their own marching song:

There’s a hole in the budget, Mitt Romney, Mitt Romney;
There’s a hole in the budget, Mitt Romney, there’s a hole.

Fix the hole in the budget, poor people, poor people;
Fix the hole in the budget, poor people, fix it.

With what shall we fix it, Mitt Romney, Mitt Romney;
With what shall we fix it, Mitt Romney, with what?

Recently, Michael Steele, party chairman of the RNC, welcomed moderates into the now tiny tent that is the Republican party:

Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele appealed to the political middle Friday to join his party but added that the party itself wouldn’t moderate.

“All you moderates out there, y’all come. I mean, that’s the message,” Steele said at a news conference. “The message of this party is this is a big table for everyone to have a seat. I have a place setting with your name on the front.

“Understand that when you come into someone’s house, you’re not looking to change it. You come in because that’s the place you want to be.”

Steele added that moderates would be expected to clear the table and wash dishes quietly while the other guests argued over whether Barack Obama was a fascist or merely a socialist. Oh, and hope you guys are up for a little unpaid babysitting: The rest of us were hoping to check out a tea party later tonight.

I received mine the other day and was horrified when this message was left : “Hello. I’m calling for John McCain and the RNC,” – “need to know that Barack Obama has worked closely with domestic terrorist, Bill Ayers, whose organization bombed the U.S. Capitol, the Pentagon, a judge’s home, and killed Americans.” These propaganda tactics should not be allowed. What this causes is a myth to be perpetuated and some people believe these lies to be true. Which leads to what we see in the video below by The Young Turks.

The McCain-Palin Campaign and the Republican National Committee has launched a massive campaign on Thursday, more on this from Huffington Post.

Normally, I wouldn’t be so callous as to someone being robbed of a significant amount of money and valuables, but, well, I just can’t help myself.

How many of you go on a business trip carrying more than a hundred large (that would be greater than $100,000) in cash and valuables? Heck, how many of you HAVE more than $100k in cash and valuables? While I am part and parcel of the ownership society (I own more crap than I know what to do with), I doubt that everything I own in total (aside from house and car) adds up to more than $100k.

So, here’s to you, Mr. Schwartz. You get the Republicans Are Tools! Whose Family? What Values? ™ award.

Just when we thought all we had to worry about was voter caging in Ohio, which is still of major concern, now we can add Michigan to the list, thanks to the GOP. A lawsuit was filed on Tuesday– to challenge an attempt by the Macomb Co. Republicans– to keep people who are facing foreclosure from voting.

The lawsuit was filed in federal district court in Detroit by Obama for America, the Democratic National Committee and several Mccomb County voters. It asks for an injunction prohibiting the Macomb County GOP, the Michigan Republican Party and the Republican National Committee from challenging Michigan voters whose homes are on foreclosure lists.

In the article, Macomb County Republican Party chairman James Carabelli was quoted as saying, “We will have a list of foreclosed homes and will make sure people aren’t voting from those addresses.” Carabelli contends the quotes as reported by Eartha Jane Melzer were “fabricated.” State Republican chairman Saul Anuzis charges the story is a “complete fabrication.”

Melzer accurately reported the quotes and the Michigan Messenger will not have the story retracted because the claims made by Carabelli’s and Anuzis’ are false.

It is worth noting that Carabelli and Anuzis have yet to send the demand for a retraction to Melzer, the Messenger’s editors or the Center for Independent Media. To make such a far-fetched charge to other media outlets but not to us suggests that their motivation may be more political than factual.

We are not partisans of the Democratic Party, as alleged in the press release. Case in point: When Gov. Jennifer Granholm, a liberal Democrat, arranged tax breaks for Sovereign Deed, our coverage was critical. As a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization, we do not favor any party. We favor accountability.

Now to get to the interesting part–about why the Republicans will use foreclosure lists to block voters, is a cheap and effective strategy. Michigan Messenger interviewed Republican activist Allen Raymond, who by the way has a book out called “Confessions of a Republican Operative: How to Rig an Election”, in which he talks about his life and work. Raymond explains to Melzer about the key part to a November victory is holding down Democratic turnout.

Raymond knows about Republican campaign tactics. For almost a decade he managed campaigns for Republicans running for state and national office. In the 2002 New Hampshire elections, he ran a phone-jamming operation aimed at blocking elderly people from arranging rides to the polls, an illegal action that he says was approved by the highest levels of the party. He spent three months in federal prison.

We’ll start as a young protester describes his own torture at the hands of the police, a telling which is too reminiscent of the handling of detainees at Guantanamo Bay.

The following is from FireDoglake, and I strongly urge you to read the entire story. It is beyond belief that this could and did happen in The United States of America.

From a fourth-year University of Minnesota medical student:

While much attention has been paid to arrests of prominent journalists & protesters harsh treatment during arrests, in the streets of St Paul many community members feel invisible as they live out the RNC protest repercussions. Undocumented families, refugees have been staying away from their homes in highly patrolled areas near downtown St Paul in fear of encountering police by accident. I visited and documented a gentleman of color who had no prior criminal history, who was detained without cause near central St Paul. During his arrest, while handcuffed he was beat by a police officer. The victim had recently had major surgery, released from hospital less than a week prior. Later, during booking, the same officer punched him repeatedly in the head and neck in front of other officers who looked on without concern. When police realized that this man was severely injured, they drove him one block away from the hospital and let him limp his way to the ER.

People of color, those most marginalized in our community, have faced severe consequences because of RNC protests. Police riled up, frustrated with protesters are taking out their anger on those without large wallets, or skin privilege.

There are more stories of abuse of people and abuse of power below the fold.